The Korean won falls as Mike Pence says all North Korea options are 'on the table'

The Korean won closed down again on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions remain elevated in the region.

The currency fell 0.4% to 1,142.53 per dollar.

On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence said at a press conference in Japan, “The United States will continue to work with Japan, our allies across the region, and China to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear until North Korea abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — but all options are on the table.”

As for the rest of the world, here’s the scoreboard as of 7:58 a.m. ET:

The British pound is up by 0.8% at 1.2670 against the dollar after prime minister Theresa May announced she is hoping to hold a general election on June 8, but first it must be approved by a two-thirds majority in parliament. “The government is obviously very confident that an early election will strengthen its hand, but as we’ve learned time and again in recent years, nothing is for certain when voters head to the polls,” Ranko Berich, the head of market analysis at Monex Europe, said.

The US dollar index is down by 0.3% 99.97 ahead of a bunch of data. Building permits and housing starts will be out at 8:30 a.m. ET and industrial production and capacity utilization will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET.

The Russian ruble is down by 0.3% at 56.0795 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is weaker by 0.8% at $US54.94 per barrel.